Refill unit for ball point pens



June 30, 1953 K REFILL UNIT FOR BALL POINT PENS Filed NOV. 20, 1950 mmvroa R. Kurm PAUL BY I

XM AffI/SWH Patented June 30, 1953 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE REFILL UNIT POINT PEN'S Missouri Application November 20, 1950, semmeisasai This invention pertains to ball point pens and particularly to a construction suitable for use in a refill unit for such a pen. This is an improvement on the structure disclosed in the copending application of Sylvester G. Lipic, bearing Attorneys Docket No. A-525, Serial No. 189,725, filed October 12, 1959.

In accordance with this invention, generally stated, the refill unit comprises a head in which a suitable tip having a ball point is assembled. An ink container, which may be a flexible bag or a rigid tube, is attached to the said head. A bore extending through the head to the ball point is adapted to convey the ink from said container to said point. Mounted within the ink container is a rodor wire which extends through said bore to the ball point. This rod is loose in the container so that it may move about as the pen is handled. In so doing, the rod moves both laterally andendwise in said bore and thereby serves as an agitator to assist in feeding the ink to said ball.

Two similar embodiments of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a refill unit embodying this invention; and

Fig. 2 is a similar View showing a modified form of the agitator element.

Referring to the drawing, l designates a head of metal, plastic, or other rigid material, which may be provided with any suitable type of tip 2 in which a ball point 3 is mounted. A bore 4 extends entirely through the head i and the tip 2 down to the ball 3 to provide a passage for ink to be fed to said ball to be transferred thereby to the paper in writing.

An ink container 5 which as stated may be a flexible bag or a rigid tube of metal, plastic, or other suitable material, is secured to the head i by any suitable type of fastening 6. If the container 5 is rigid it should be perforated at its upper end to provide for the admission of air thereto as the ink is used up. Mounted within the container 5 is an element 1 in the form of a rod or wire. This element may be rounded at its top end by a curl 8, or the like, so that it may engage the end of a bag without danger of injuring the same. The lower end portion 9 of the element i extends through the bore 4 down to a point adjacent the ball 3. In the embodiment of Fig. 1, it is shown as contacting said ball while the upper end thereof has clearance within the end of the container 5 so as to permit a certain endwise movement of the eleiciaims. (01. -424) ment 1. The bore 4 may be large enough to permit also a certain lateral movement of the portion 9 therein. H

In the embodiment of Fig.2 the-element i is supported against downward movement beyond a certain point by a bend or kink i2 providing a shoulder engageable with the rear end of the head I. With this arrangement, the element 1 cannot be forced down far enough to dislodge the ball3.

As the element 1" moves about, within the container 5, such movement being either end- .wise or lateral, or both, it serves as an agitator to keep the ink in-a fluid condition and to assist it to feed along the bore 4. It also tends to break up any bubbles which may have formed in said bore which may interfere with the feed v of the ink. Its up and down movement, however, provides a certain pumping action which helps to insure regular feed of the ink. It will be noted also that the'rod 9 forms with the bore 4 an annular passage leading from the container 5 to the ball 3. Thisrod and bore are so pro-' portioned as to make said passage of capillary dimensions in cross section so that capillary action is efiective to feed the ink to the ball.

Inthis way said bore may be made of ample size so as to avoid difficulty in manufacturing, and thereafter the passage is reduced to the desired size by insertion of a rod 9 of appropriate diameter.

An outer shield for the container 5 may be provid'ed in the form of a metallic tube Ill secured to the head I by any suitable means as by crimping as indicated at H. Such a shield serves to prevent injury to the container 5, particularly where the latter is in the form of a flexible bag, and also protects the device against any impact tending to force the element 1 downward in the bore 4 sufficiently to dislodge the ball 3 from its socket.

The rod 1 may serve several purposes. It may serve as a support for the container 5, when that is a bag of flexible material and when there is a tendency for the bag to collapse. Thus, it may prevent the bag from collapsing at a midsection, by reason of which feedwould be cut off and the unit put out of service before'the ink is exhausted.

It serves also to improve the feed to the ball 3, when the container 5 is flexible or rigid as pointed out above, the rod being movable with a change in position of the pen, it'serves to agitate the ink, thereby feeding it by a pumping action to the ball. and also breaks up any air bubbles which might form to block flow of the ink. Where the bag is of flexible material, the

bag does not bear on the rod sufiiciently to pre- It forms a conductor for the ink. The rod 1,

being preferably of metal, such as a steel wire and, therefore, having a high molecular or sur-' face attraction for the ink, andlbeingreadily wettable by the ink, assists in quickly supplying I the needed ink downward to the ball whenthe.

pen is held in writing position. -TIn this position the ink is conducted down the rod to by-pass any obstructing air bubblewhich n ay for m in;

the passageway.

The invention is shown as preferably-embodied in a refill unit which may be detached from a pen case. It will be obvious, however,

that the invention may b embodied in a nonrefillabl pen in which case the tube orshield ID, or even the container 5, may be so constructed as to be suitable as an exterior pen case.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction, within the scope ofthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit of this adapted to supply ink to said bore, and an agitator loosely mounted in said bore for free movement longitudinally and laterally with respect to said bore and container, and extending from said container to a point adjacent said ball.

2. In a ball point pen, a head having a ball point tip with a ball rotatably mounted in said tip and a bore extending through said head to said ball, an ink container attached to said head adapted to supply ink to said bore, and an agitator loosely mounted in said bore for free movement longitudinally and laterally with respect to said bore and container, and extendingfrom said container to loosely contact said ball.

3. In a ball point pen, a head having a ball point tip with a ball rotatably mounted in said tip and a bore extending through said head to said ball, a flexible ink bag attachedto said head, and an extension element loose in said bag abutting the end thereof to keep the same extended and traversing said bore for free movement therein to provide an agitator of the ink therein.

4. In a ball point pen, a head having a ball point tip with a writing ball rotatably mounted in said tip and a bore extending through said head to said ball, a flexible ink bag attached to said head, and an extension element loos in said bag extending to the end thereof to keep the same extended and traversing said bore to provide an agitator of the ink therein and loosely contacting said ball.

5. 'In a ball point pen, a head having a ball point tip with a ball rotatably mounted in said tip and a bore extending through said head to said ball, a flexible ink bag attached to said head,

and an extension element loose in said bag extending to the end thereof to keep the same extended and traversing said bore to provide an agitator or" the ink therein, said element being formed with a shoulder engaging said head to limit its movement toward said ball.

6. In a ball point pen, a head having a ball point tip with a. ball rotatably mounted in said tip and a bore extending through said head to said ball, a flexible ink bag attached to said head, and a wire strut within said bag having one end rounded for engagement with the end of said bag and the other end positioned to loosely contact said ball.

7. In a ball point en, a head having a ball point tip with a ball rotatably mounted in said tip and a bore extending through said head to said ball, a flexible ink bag attached to said head, and a wire'strut loose within said bag having one end rounded for engagement with th end of said bag and the other end portion traversing said bore to a point adjacent said ball.

PAUL R. KUHN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,040,519 Davis Oct. 8, 1912 1,135,156 Carr Apr. 13, 1915 1,501,806 Peter July 15, 1924 2,107,424 Platt Feb. 8, 1938 2,502,866 Lust Apr. 1, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 7 Country Date 8,628 Great Britain of 1885 87,480 Germany July 11, 1896 19,028 Great Britain of 1911 459,841 Canada Sept. 20. 1949 

